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Sinn Féin have been known for their commemorations for years, every Sinn Féin cumann organises them both for their local volunteers and for the higher profile ones, (for lack of a better term), like Bobby Sands or Liam Mellowes or whomever. Then there's the commemorations of events, like the Hunger Strikes, the 1916 Rising, Bloody Sunday etc etc.
But do these commemorations actually do any good? I know that it's important that we remember those who went before us, and from a practical point of view they keep the party in the public eye and attract young republicans who are inevitably impressed by the flags, the speeches, the uniforms etc etc.
But on the other hand, they anchor an image of Sinn Féin as a single issue party in the eyes of the public. I do not feel that SF is a single issue party, but that is how many, (if not most) people see them.
I also know that there are rallies, parades, pickets and marches for other causes, Shell to Sea, Free Healthcare, War protests etc, but they are undoubtedly outnumbered by the constant commemorations.
Having attended a few myself, I find that the turnout is generally quite low, in the regions of the tens and twenties, (at least, in the average local level commemoration) which I'm sure is very demoralising to the organisers, No real progress is made, (passers by aren't educated on any party aim other than that of a United Ireland, usually they're not even educated about the lives of the volunteer being honoured). And perhaps most damaging, they perpetuate the image of SF as a single issue party.
I know that if SF dropped all commemorations, there would be uproar from within their ranks, so the leadership doesn't really have any room to manouvre, but there are actions that can and should be taken.
How about a conscious policy of organising two or even three current affairs events for each commemoration? For every march in honour of a martyr, have two demanding free health, or US troops out of Shannon airport. For every parade, organise ten people to go out onto the streets handing out flyers about anything, from the parties aims, to the five "isms1 to an explanation of the parties point of view, (most people for instance have no real understanding of what exactly socialism is).
I know that there will be plenty of people here telling me that SF already does this, but my experience as an outsider is that your average Shinner is living in the past. I like SF and vote SF, but then again, I feel I research my vote more than your average voter. And at the end of the day, what matters is how one appears to an outsider. It doesn't matter if you have a meeting on education cuts, if its overshadowed by something else, it will be forgotten. And that's basically what I'm getting at, that SFs good aspects are being overshadowed by what seems like a duty to the dead, and as long as the public sees SF as a single issue party, regardless of whether they're right or wrong, SF won't get elected.
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Originally Posted by Aindriu
